Construction Scheduling and Progress Control Using Geographical Information Systems

Traditional scheduling and progress control techniques such as bar charts and the critical path method (CPM) fail to provide information pertaining to the spatial aspects of a construction project. A system called PMS-GIS (Progress Monitoring System with Geographical Information Systems) was developed to represent construction progress not only in terms of a CPM schedule but also in terms of a graphical representation of the construction that is synchronized with the work schedule. In PMS-GIS, the architectural design is executed using a computer-aided drafting (CAD) program (AutoCAD), the work schedule is generated using a project management software (P3), the design and schedule information (including percent complete information) are plugged into a GIS package (ArcViewGIS), and for every update, the system produces a CPM-generated bar chart alongside a 3D rendering of the project marked for progress. The GIS-based system developed in this study helps to effectively communicate the schedule∕progress information to the parties involved in the project, because they will be able to see in detail the spatial aspects of the project alongside the schedule.